As per the QS World University Rankings for 2015, Kuwait University dropped from the eighth rank to 30th position among the best 100 Arab universities in the Arab world. Globally Kuwait ranked 701.

This came at a recent event organized by the University of United Arab Emirates in cooperation with IELTS program in the presence of representatives from Arab and international universities. King Fahd University for Petroleum and Mineral occupied the first place, according to the criteria of classifying the qualifying universities, and American University of Beirut came second, while King Saud University occupied the third place.

King Abdulaziz University came fourth and American University of Cairo took the fifth place. As announced, the University of UAE occupied the sixth position and American University of Sharjah came seventh, followed by the Jordanian University in eighth position and Cairo University in the ninth place, while Jordan University of Science and Technology was ranked 10th.

Director of Scientific Research in QS World University Rankings Barbell Ekelman specified the international criteria for classification of universities based upon nine major indicators, citing academic status (30 percent), employee status (20 percent), proportion of students to academic staff (20 percent), influence of the Internet (10 percent), proportion of international teaching staff (2.5 percent), international students quota (2.5 percent), ratio of employees holding PhD (5 percent), quotations of research papers (5 percent), and research contributions for each academic staff as per the ‘Scopus’ system (5 percent).

The representatives of Arab universities attending the result declaration ceremony said the criteria of classification qualified universities from 15 Arab countries. They affirmed the importance of assessing the programs and graduates based on scientific and practical indicators for evaluation and accreditation of university programs and certificates to motivate the review of status of each university to facilitate the development of plans and policies of higher education.